A database is a collection of data stored in a digital form. Databases have become an integral part of virtually all business and personal applications. A database can store different types of data ranging from personal identification information to various forms of multimedia. Many databases can store data in the form of a large object (“LOB”). A binary large object (“BLOB”) is a type of LOB that can store the raw data commonly found in a file (e.g. a multimedia file). A character long object (“CLOB”) is a type of LOB that can store ASCII data commonly found in a text file
The database can store and retrieve the data but lacks the ability to manipulate it. Programs external to the database, such as a word-processing program or a video-editing program, are used to work with the data. However, these programs are designed to work with data that is read from a file in a file system, rather than a database.
These external programs access a file by sending a file I/O request to the operating system (“OS”). The user program may ask the OS to open the file, read a certain number of bytes, and then close the file. The OS verifies that the requested file exists, reads the requested bytes, returns the bytes to the user and then closes the file.